[h2]Esme[/h2]
 As soon as Esme walked into the kitchen and saw Mika, she felt uneasy and a little nervous. The two hadn't gotten off to the best start, and Esme was a little worried that something would break out between them, which she wasn't feeling up to. When Duke came over and put an arm around her waist, Esme leaned into him as she put her arm around him and slightly smiled as he wiped a tear from her face. Esme knew he had to feel how tense she was standing there, even if the room felt lighter for Duke. It wasn't until Mika spoke and Esme saw a much kinder look on her face that she relaxed and looked at the woman kindly in return. “You don’t have to thank me for helping her.” she started after Duke spoke. “She’s dealing with some deep emotions she’s never been able to process. She doesn’t know how. I wanted to help her because I know what it’s like trying to process emotions you don’t understand. The only difference is I didn’t have help.” she told Mika. Sighing softly, Esme briefly looked at the floor, collecting herself a little more. “I don’t like seeing them fight either.” she admitted. 

“Especially knowing how much he loves and cares for her. I can feel it. He’s just crap at showing it. And Natalia…. She feels like she’s the sister Dean probably never wanted.” she said sadly. “And she still remembers Dean and Sam's conversation outside the door after they saved her. It clearly still haunts her…. I hope this talk between them will help start bringing them closer.” Esme really did hope that this talk between Dean and Natalia would help bring the two closer. She hated seeing family members not get along or seeing family members think they didn't belong in the family. It was hard to see when she witnessed it in her own family and watched it tear them apart. So, if she could calm Natalia down enough for Dean to talk to her, she would be happy. As Esme stood there, she found herself falling into memories of her family and tensing up again with a lump forming in her throat. Esme forced the memories from her mind and swallowed the lump in her throat, then unconsciously put two fingers through one of Duke’s belt loops to hold him closer to her. She then focused back on Mika to keep herself from drifting back into the memories. 

Esme’s mind was tired from the lack of good sleep, so it was taking some effort to hold back memories the situation stirred and keep some emotions at bay. “While we talked, Natalia asked me if I would help her process her emotions, admitting she didn’t know how. I told her I would.” she told Mika. “I have to say I was a little surprised. She doesn’t seem like someone who often asks for help, at least not with something so personal.” Esme knew that the way she told Mika sounded as if she was asking if it was okay, but she didn't care. She felt she should know and did hope she was alright with it. Esme didn't want to overstep in any way but did want to do what she could to help. She also didn’t want Mika to think she was trying to take over anything. Just step in with her where she could and help out. Esme didn’t want the tension to linger between them since she didn’t know just how much Dean told her about their relationship.